Negotiations over the controversial GOA rate, the tariff paid for medical services by private insurers in Germany have broken down after doctor’s association the Bundesärztekammer failed to reach agreement with the insurers. That is bad news for most providers, who had hoped for a hike of roughly eight percentage points, but good news for labs who feared drops of 30-70% for standard tests. Meanwhile, labs say the danger of a big cut in the rate paid by statutory insurers has receded.